Aqua Pennsylvania has announced that funding has been included in the Pennsylvania state budget to construct a treatment facility at its North Hills well in Upper Dublin Township, Montgomery County. The legislation, overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Nov. 23.

The $3.9 million grant will support Aqua’s efforts to remove Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are a part of the PFAS family of chemicals. Aqua removed this well from service in July 2018.

“On behalf of all of our customers, Aqua Pennsylvania would like to thank State Reps. Ben Sanchez and Matt Bradford and Sen. Art Haywood for their tireless effort to include funding for PFAS remediation at North Hills in the latest fiscal code passed by the Pennsylvania legislature,” said Aqua Pennsylvania President Marc Lucca. “We have worked for years with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection completing studies showing that the proposed resin treatment system will provide the desired results and are so pleased to begin the construction phase.”

“As somebody who lives in this community with my wife and three children, plus countless other family, friends, and neighbors, securing this funding for PFAS remediation at North Hills was a significant accomplishment,” said Rep. Sanchez. “Ensuring these chemicals are removed from the water we all use every day is a goal we are all continuing to work toward together. I look forward to the major progress Aqua and Essential Utilities Inc. will make with this proposed resin treatment system.”

Aqua’s parent company, Essential Utilities Inc., announced this year its commitment to standardize its activities to address the presence of the PFAS family of chemicals in drinking water across its eight-state Aqua footprint. In its February 2020 news release, Essential said beginning this year, it will make the necessary capital investment over several years to install mitigation technology at water treatment facilities where source water exceeds 13 parts per trillion (ppt) for any of the PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA.

Aqua Pennsylvania serves approximately 1.4 million people in 32 counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Visit AquaAmerica.com for more information or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.